Pack of cigarettes evolution. Part 2

December 27, 2010

Pack of cigarettes evolution. Part 2

Conception has finally composed during business trip to Columbia where Johan has found results of sales of Kool Night brand that belongs to BAT. Pack of dark blue, almost black color has marked out on the shelve. "For this branch traditional are such colors as white, red and blue. If packs of these colors would have been removed from the shelves that time, it would be for 80 per cent empty" - Johan says.

When he has expressed his idea for the first time, his colleagues and creative agency that had to design the pack have met it skeptically: black packs were considered old-fashioned but thin cigarettes - solely ladies'. But Johan was able to get way. He says: "I was lucky, my boss was marketing director and he has supported me. It is an important lesson: don't kill ideas on the early stage, wait till you don't see first drafts". As soon as mold was ready, doubts have gone - on testing people spontaneously have reached for the pack. First design version has been approved practically without changes what happens seldom on consumer's market: usually the pack is tested and corrected several times.

But pack is only half of business. And BAT and competing tobacco Companies have already produced cigarettes with triple carbon filter, to make cigarettes without it would be a mistake. R&D department had to elaborate technology that allows inserting modern filter in thinner cigarettes. Manufacturing process had to be prepared as well: to buy expensive equipment. Vandermeulen doesn't disclose figures but he says that investments were "considerable" and that in case with novelty it is always a risk: demand expectations can be wrong.